Federal Agents Posed as Photographers to Track Skinheads

Published: September 1, 2000

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, Aug. 31—
Federal agents posed as members of the news media to take pictures of neo-Nazi skinheads gathered this week to support the Aryan Nations at the trial of a lawsuit against them.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department revoked credentials issued to seven people late Wednesday after learning they were undercover agents for the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Capt. Ben Wolfinger of the Sheriff's Department had initially directed the agents to obtain media passes so they could blend in with photographers covering the trial.

But after a reporter complained, Sheriff Rocky Watson revoked media credentials for the undercover agents, who were on the scene wearing photographers' vests, glasses, hats and camera equipment.

''I was surprised it became an issue,'' Captain Wolfinger said.

Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not immediately return telephone messages.

Representatives of the firearms bureau were at the trial to help inspect packages for possible explosives, said Tony Woo of the agency's Seattle office.

Asked if any of the agents were posing as journalists, Mr. Woo said, ''On that I would have no comment.''

''There are numerous investigative techniques we are deploying out there,'' he said.

The skinheads, many carrying Aryan Nations banners, have gathered outside the Kootenai County Courthouse each day since the trial began on Monday in District Court. Security is heavy. SWAT teams patrol the grounds and escort trial participants, while bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors are used to detect weapons because law enforcement officers have concerns about a possible terrorist attack. Because of those concerns, reporters were required to obtain new photo-ID badges from the sheriff's office, and access to the courtroom has been tightly controlled.

Two people -- Victoria Keenan and her son Jason -- are suing the white-supremacist group and its officers for damages stemming from a 1998 confrontation in which they were assaulted and shot at by Aryan Nations security guards. The civil rights lawyer Morris Dees is using the lawsuit in an effort to bankrupt the Aryan Nations.

Members of the news media said it was a bad idea for law officers to pose as journalists. The Society of Professional Journalists may protest the agents' ruse, said Kyle Niederpruem, the organization's national president.

''No law enforcement officer should ever pose as a media person,'' said Ms. Niederpruem, city editor for The Indianapolis Star.

Reporters have enough trouble gaining public trust without having people ''worried that the reporter knocking on their door'' might be an F.B.I. agent, she said.